Citrus juice powder is used in many food applications, including in drinks and in meat marinades. Typical citrus fruits that are used to prepare such powders include lemons, limes, and oranges. Among these citrus fruits, the juice and juice powder prepared from lemons is generally the most acidic and is therefore generally the most desirable to use in applications where the highest level of acidity is desired.
One known method for making lemon juice powder (and other citrus juice powders) comprises extracting lemon juice from lemons (or other citrus fruits), adding maltodextrin as a bulking agent and/or filler, and subjecting the resulting slurry to heating in order to drive off the moisture and produce a powder product. The maltodextrin is believed to complex to non-volatile flavors, fragrances, and color components to protect them from degradation during the drying process. Unfortunately, current methods for making citrus juice powders may have a restricted throughput and may require large amounts of energy for heating.
Disclosed herein are improved methods employing citric acid containing fruits including lemon, pineapple, kiwi, and citric acid containing fruit combinations for making neutralized citrus juice powder and particularly neutralized powders of lemon juice, pineapple juice, and kiwi juice as well as the resulting neutralized citrus juice powder end products. Among the citric acid containing fruits, lemon and lemon juice is preferred.